Although
the war on the Home Front brought with it unimaginable hardships particularly
as the war dragged on, Christmas was a time where people tried to
forget these hardships and remember what it was like before the bombs,
rationing and blackouts.

Even though food was short many people
still managed to find a turkey, chicken, duck, goose or pheasant for their
Christmas lunch which helped to supplement the endless mountains of
carrots and potatoes. As was highlighted with the
Dr Carrot advertising campaign the former were supposed to help
improve people's night vision and prevent unnecessary accidents in the
blackout. It is a sad fact that many people were killed during the
early days of the blackout as a result of walking in front of moving cars.

In the absence of fresh tropical fruits carrots were also used to help
flavour cakes.

PICTURE:
Let out in the cold. Hitler gets his come-uppance!

PICTURE: Father
Christmas goes to war in the Christmas Radio Times of 1942.

Mince pies were always a traditional
Christmas treat so housewives made do and improvised. It was
suggested that mincemeat could go that little bit further if grated or
finely diced apple or apple pulp was added to the ingredients.
If
mincemeat was not available then spices could be added with dried fruit,
dates or cooked prunes. No one ever complained though as there was no sign
of a carrot anywhere!

CHRISTMAS
TREES AND DECORATIONS

PICTURE: People
are urged to save, invest and help the war effort (even at Christmas!)

It
was impossible to get a tree for Christmas because of the timber
restrictions and even those who were fortunate to find one paid
extortionate prices. They were often disappointed as well because
these trees were merely smaller cut offs of bigger trees.

If you were lucky enough to have a
Christmas tree then the authorities sternly reminded you that it was
inadvisable to use candles on the trees as you never knew when a German
bomb might cause an electrical blackout and these candles might be needed.

As for Christmas decorations these
were seen as luxury items and not available in the shops. Most
people just relied on their old decorations that they had purchased before
the war. These were enough to help spread a little bit of Christmas
cheer.

The Careless Talk campaign also
remained clear in people's minds especially at Christmas and warned
against loose talk. An example of a seasonal Careless Talk poster
can be seen below.

Christmas
was a particularly difficult time for children, especially those that
had been evacuated and were now living in strange homes far away from
their parents.

For those that were still with their
parents toys were scarce with all the toyshops displaying empty
shelves. After all kapok was needed more for lifejackets than for
teddy bears!

GAMES
AT CHRISTMAS

For some, indulgence was simply a
quiet time at home with loved ones and the radio. For others card
games such as Rummy were the order of the day or reading out loud to each
other. All in all the British people made do and celebrated
Christmas as best they could praying that the hostilities in Europe and
all over the world would soon be at an end.